Chio Tian Folk Drums and Arts Troupe

Chio-Tian Folk Drums and Arts Troupe was formed in 1995 by Chen-Jung Hsu with the ambition of creating a unique form of traditional Taiwanese drum entertainment that would be appreciated by native Taiwanese as well as people from other cultures. The troupe originated from street performances in temple festivals. After ten years of striving to improve, innovate and mature, the troupe has become a world-class entertainment icon. The troupe has received many entertainment awards in Taiwan. It was praised by the Taiwanese government for its superb achievements of incubating talented performers to preserve the traditional Taiwanese culture.
To become a master of drumming, one must go through vigorous training that includes daily routines of running 6 Miles, doing hundreds of push-ups or sit-ups, continuously hitting drums for hours, learning Taiwanese culture, and practicing martial arts and meditation. One must learn to express one's artistic creativity through one's athletic performance. Our artisans are a unique group of professionals.

"We are committed to providing an unsurpassed experience to our audience to reveal the distinctiveness of Taiwanese cultural performance. We strive to integrate sociology, anthropology, ethnography and linguistics into an enticing blend of entertainment."

(Source: www.chio.com.tw)

Eight Infernal Generals
Before an eight infernal general troupe is formed and practice take place, li guan must be carried out and the gods invited and, during the period of preparing for performance the troupe members have to keep to a vegetarian diet and stay celibate.
After make-up is applied on the day of the performance the troupe members have to maintain a solemn demeanour and should not talk casually and even maintain a peaceful expression when resting because it is believed they are representing the gods.
When practicing or performing, the troupe members hold a feather fan in one hand and a piece of ritual equipment in the other, on the head they wear a helmet, they dress in a robe and wear grass shoes and red socks.
When they move they use the tiger step or jump, always maintaining a fearsome image, the intention being to strike fear into any evil spirit they come across and allow them to be captured.